


Dragonborn's Bane

by Aroomie



Series: Elder Scrolls Tales [3]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Angst, Daddy Issues, Dragons, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Slavery, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:27:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15609312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aroomie/pseuds/Aroomie
Summary: Hunting down her father turns into a life she never expected full of tragedy, fighting for her life, and unexpected romance.((I suck at writing summaries!! Haha..))





	1. Chapter 1

_"I'll be home before you know it, pup."_

__

__

_Small pale lips durned down into a pouting frown at the words spoken, a mismatched set of blue and gold of eyes stared up at the tall male, his own staring right back as his hand came up to gently brush across her cheek and pushed back defiant strands of bronzed coloured hair behind a slightly pointed ear._

_"I will be back before you even know I am gone."_

_The child huffed quietly but nodded as she tilted her head into the touch._

_"Now be a good pup for Marine, yes?"_

_The child nodded once again, watching as the man climbed onto his horse and rode off. She clutched her teddy tightly to her chest, watching him leave down the road._

_"Kalilah!"_

_The little girl spun on her heels and stared up at the woman standing in the doorway of her home, a small frown crossing her lips as she looked back down the road where the man left._

_"Come back, pa..."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Rough thrashing made her eyes shoot open wide, taking a deep breath as she twisted her wrists around against the ropes binding her hands. 

"Ah, you're awake." 

Her gaze shifted from the boards of the carriage towards the voice, her lips thinning out as her blue eye landed on the male across from her. 

"You've been out for quite a while, how are you feeling?" 

She shrugged her shoulders, closing her eyes as she tilted her head back and took a slow breath before opening her eyes again. She could hear another man talking cross from her, her gaze shifting from the trees to their conversation then over towards the man sitting next to her with a gag over his mouth and her brow lifted slightly as she recognized him almost instantly. 

"So that's where we are going..." 

The men across from her halting their conversation as they looked over at her, the horse thief staring at her panicked. 

"What do you mean? Where are we going?" 

Her eye shifted towards the man and a small smile crossed her face as she spoke. 

"Don't you recognize him?" 

She tipped her head towards the gagged man, and the horse thief choked on his breath. 

"No way... This has to be a mistake! We aren't with you people!" 

Kalilah snorted in amusement as she shook her head, flicking her bangs back from her face for a second, before it fell back over top her golden eye, as she turned her gaze towards the city they were approaching. 

"Say what you like, horse thief. But I doubt they will listen, Imperials are like that." 

The soldier snorted in amusement at her words as he turned his gaze towards the road as well, talking about a girl he was sweet on from the town all the while Kalilah watched the archway pass over head and made a small humming noise as she now ignored the men in the carriage till they came to a stop. 

"We're stopping... Why are we stopping?!" 

Kalilah chuckled quietly, shaking her head. 

"You know, horse thief... You should accept your death with some sort of honor. All you're doing now is embarrassing yourself." 

Kalilah jumped off the carriage and watched the imperial pull out a list and her eyes rolled, unable to help the quiet groan that left her lips as he began reading off from it. Her gaze narrowed as the horse thief tried making a run for it, and she simply shook her head at the idiot before turning her gaze back the the imperial man staring at her. 

"Who are you?" 

He took a glance at his list, his brow's lifted in wonder. 

"Kalilah Craven." 

He glanced up at her once again when she spoke her name, his brow furrowing together as he looked at the list. 

"Captain... What should we do? She's not on the list" 

Kalilah looked to the women standing next to the male, a small smirk growing on her lips as the woman glared daggers into her. 

"Forget the list! She goes to the block!" 

The man sighed softly, nodding as he looked back at her. 

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy." 

Kalilah rolled her eyes and made a mock bowing motion before stepping up to the group of people waiting to get their heads cut off. Shifting on her feet as she closed her eyes and sighed quietly as she just listened to the commotion. She opened her eyes partially after a moment, watching the first man's head fall into the basket, her eyes trailing up to the sky as something behind the pale white clouds thundered. Her brow twitched slightly as her attention was drawn back into reality. 

"I said "Next prisoner!" 

Someone pushed her shoulder and Kalilah glared at the soldier pushing her toward the block, a surprised yipe leaving her throat as she was kicked at the back of her knees to make her kneel and a foot shoved on her back to push her down on the block. She glared at the severed head staring back at her, her lips curling into a displeased snarl. 

"Dragon!" 

Kalilah lifted herself off the block just enough to cover her ears as a loud booming snap echoed across the sky, her eyes shutting tightly as the noise crated a dull throb in the back of her mind. 

"Prisoner! Come on!" 

The voice made her look up as her shoulder was hoisted up from the block, her weight supported by the man that sat across from her on the wagon. 

"We won't get another chance!" 

Clumsily finding her footing, Kalilah ran alongside the soldier as he pulled her, leading her to an open door across the yard. The door was slammed shut behind them as they ran into the tower, the weight supporting Kalilah leaving soon after once she was standing properly on her own in the temporary haven. She barely paid attention as the men began bickering about dragons and ledgends, her eyes rolling as she gnawed at the knot on her bindings till it came loose. 

As she unraveled the rope from her wrists, she looked up the stairs and let out an already exhausted puff of air before looking over at the men, her brow lifting slightly as the one she had grown familiar with came up to her. 

"Alright, let's go. There might be a way out up this way." 

Kalilah sighed lightly but nodded as she took the lead and went ahead of the man, her hand tracing across the wall as she took the steps by two's. Both of them pausing in their steps as a soldier sat hunched over a pile of boulders blocking the steps and mumbling something about just needing to clear the way and they could get out. Just as she was about to step forward and help, the wall burst open as the dragons head barreled through, knocking Kalilah off balance and with a very unladylike yelp, she almost fell off the steps if not for the strong arm that wrapped around her middle and pulled her back against the wall and chainmail clad chest. She watched in horror, not that she would admit, as the dragons fire poured across the steps and flaying the man in front of them to the point of ashes before flying off again. Kalilah looked over her shoulder at the man and made a noise of mild disgust and amusement. 

"I think I will skip the next headsmen appointment, if you don’t mind." 

The soldier barked out in laughter as he pushed her forwards gently to get her moving again, the two of them leaning out the freshly made hole in the wall as they took in the scenery of destruction. 

"First we have to get out of here, yes? Then we can talk about playing absent at the next party." 

She laughed, thanking any of the nine and princes that were listening for the return of the bad humor, her head tilting slightly as the soldier pointed towards the nearby broken roof. 

"Look there. Think you can jump that?" 

Kalilah looked directly down, her brows lifting high on her forehead before looking back at the soldier. 

"Do I look like a horse to you?" 

He laughed, shaking his head. 

"I could always try throwing you?" 

Kalilah made an undignified squawk and stared bewildered at the man before flipping him off with her middle finger and took a couple steps back from the hole. 

"I'd rather fall to my death with my OWN excuse, being thrown just short is just embarrassing!" 

Kalilah pushed her body forward in a short hard sprint, grinning at the laughing man as she moved past him and jumped off the very edge of the building. Whether because it was that she had too much momentum, of she simply landed odd, her body collided hard with the floor paneling of the next building and she rolled with a short scream before the boards gave way and she crashed into the ground floor. 

She groaned, loudly, and pushed wood splinters from her body as she stood up. She looked over to the hole in the tower wall and waved her hands over her head at the soldier when she saw he was still standing there, he looked relieved before waving back at her before he vanished, more than likely to talk to the others still inside. 

She let out a heavy breath, looking herself over and made a face as she took note of a fairly large splinter of wood sticking out from her thigh. Sighing quietly, she made note to take care of it properly once she was no longer in threat of being squished by a giant lizard and let the broken hut. When she stepped outside, she glared at the imperial who had been calling out names from the list, watching as he called a boy over who was cowering in the street. She limped over a couple steps, gripping her leg tightly just above the wood splinter, and the man noticed her. 

"Still alive, Prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way!" 

Kalilah glared at the imperial as he ran off, not bothering to see if she was behind him, and she sighed heavily before running off after him best she could with her new limp. 

"Stay against the wall!" 

She looked up at his bellowing just in time to fall down the small wall as the dragon came around and landed just over their heads, the wood in her leg digging in deeper and she cursed silently while covering her mouth with her hand. When the dragon took off again, she had to use the wall to push herself to her feet as the imperial ran off again, and she glowered at his back and pushed off the wall to start a slow jog after him. 

Kalilah stared at the town people caught in the middle of the dragons wake, a small frown tugging her lips as she ran past a wounded woman curled in a fetal position. Not paying attention, she ran into the imperials back and gritted her teeth as she stumbled over her bad leg, limping away a few paces from the man as he screamed at the rival soldier. 

"Ralof! You traitor, outta my way!" 

There was a small scoff as the rival, Ralof, spoke. 

"We are getting out of here, Hadvar. You can't stop us!" 

Kalilah grumbled at their bickering, wishing their pissing match could wait for later. Ralof took a glance at her, his brow lifting high and ran over to her, grabbing her free arm and pulling it over his shoulder. 

"You let a woman run after you in this state!?" 

Hadvar looked at Kalilah, his rage filled face becoming slack as he finally saw she had been limping. 

"Damnit!" 

He took a step closer to the pair just in time for the dragon to land close by and turn its attention on them. Both men cursed and Hadvar rushed the last few steps over to them and took Kalilah's other arm over his shoulders and both men ran into the keep. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Once they were safely inside and Kalilah was set back on her feet did she realize how much pain she was in, her face paling slightly as she limped over to a nearby bed and dropped down onto it before she collapsed on the floor. 

"Shit... We need to get that out." 

She looked over at Ralof as he spoke, his body right next to hers as he looked at her leg. 

"There should be something here that can help." 

Hadvar walked away a few paces, checking in a nearby chest for anything that would help while Ralof stayed with Kalilah and made sure she didn't fall unconscious. Her gaze following Hadvar closely before looking at Ralof and a large grin crossed her face as she broke out into a small fit of giggling. Ralof tilted his head at her and Hadvar returned to them with various items cluthed in his arms. 

"You find this funny, do you?" 

She nodded at Hadvar as he spoke, waving her hand around while Ralof took the blade Hadvar found and cut away the fabric of Kalilah's ragged pants to see the damage. 

"You both... Seem like you used to be friends... But then you joined the opposite sides, of a stupid civil war!" 

She couldn't help herself, her arms crossing over her stomach as she fell onto her back and her giggling turned into a full on laugh. 

"And now! You forgot about your fighting to help a girl with a splinter!" 

She laughed harder, her upper body rolling to the side as she laughed even more. Both men took a sideways glance at one another before smirking and shaking their heads before returning to what they were doing, a small chuckle leaving Hadvar as he knelt onto the bed with one knee and took a pair of plyers in hand and held her down at the waist, while Ralof held her legs down by her ankles. 

"I suppose so. At least she's a pretty girl who needs help with a splinter." 

Kalilah laughed still, oblivious to what they were doing right up until she felt the pinch of the plyers and shift of the wood piece in her leg, then the sudden rush of pain as Hadvar pulled once, hard, and removed the wood piece with one go. She stared up at him, shock causing her eyes to grow wide before her face twisted into one of pain as her throat closed around the scream that wanted to be heard. Ralof moved quickly once the piece of wood was removed, blood oozing from the wound, and he quickly snatched up the linen wraps Hadvar had found and bound the wound tightly. 

"that should hold... At least till we can find a potion." 

Kalilah made a face as she slowly sat up, slapping each man on the shoulder as she made a sort of hissing noise of displeasure at them. 

"I take it back. You're both ass holes." 

This made both men laugh as Ralof helped her to her feet, taking one of her arms across his shoulders and helped her across the room. 

"I found a set of armor in the chest over there... Think you can get changed?" 

Kalilah rolled her eyes partially and took her arm from Ralof's shoulder, limping her way to the chest and pulled the armor set out. 

"I've changed with worse. Now close your eyes." 

Both men obliged, Hadvar covering his eyes with his hand and turning around while Ralof just turned with his arms folded over his chest. After a few minutes, Kalilah sighed fairly dramatically and covered her face with her hands. 

"Ok... I lied. I need help." 

Ralof made a quiet snorting noise and looked at Hadvar to see if the man would move to help, but when he didn't move he did. When he turned around, he saw that Kalilah had managed to get the top on, but was having trouble pulling the bottoms over her injured thigh, and he chuckled quietly. 

"I got it." 

He walked over to her and dipped his head in politeness before kneeling and helping her into the bottoms. They were a little big for her, but thankfully the buckles worked wonders and he managed to synch them up tight enough so they wouldn't fall off. He grabbed the edges and gave a gentle tug of them before standing back up. 

"There. All set. Though I do recommend a new set when we get out of here." 

Kalilah stared up at Ralof and made a quiet popping noise with her lips. 

"No, you don't say?" 

He grinned down at her before tipping his head, taking her arm over his shoulder while Hadvar got the door open and they continued on their way. They traveled in silence till they reached a side chamber with two Stormcloak soldiers and Ralof gave Kalilah to Hadvar as he spoke to his fellow's, managing to have them make their way to another part of the keep so they could continue on their way. When they reached the kitchens, they met with two more Stormcloaks, sadly these two could not be persuaded to leave, but were convinced that Hadvar had abandoned the Legion and wanted to join them, while they remained suspicious, they didn't push further when they saw Kalilah limping alongside him. 

"There should be some healh potions around here somewhere..." 

Kalilah watched as Ralof walked a head of them and began rummaging through barrels and shelves, idly rubbing her sore leg after Havard sat her down at a nearby table. She smiled at Ralof as he came back, face flushed and holding tightly to a few red tinted bottles. 

"Here's what I could find." 

She chuckled quietly at the nord as he dropped the bottles onto the table, shifting her weight as she watched him pick up one of the bottles and pull the top. 

"Lift that please." 

He motioned towards the bottom part of the armor and she obliged, exposing the blood soaked bandages. Ralof huffed quietly as Hadvar looked about the room for anything else useful, untying the wrap and quickly poured the contents of the bottle across the wound. Kalilah yiped loudly in discomfort when the liquid touched her leg, her body becoming ridged as she bit her lower lip and closed her eyes tightly. As the feeling of discomfort passed, she sighed heavily and rubbed her leg where the bleeding hole used to be and traced over the new scar that decorated her skin. 

"Thank you, Ralof." 

The nord smiled and nodded, taking her hands in his and pulling her to her feet and let her test the limb before letting go of her hands hand giving her the blade the picked up in the beginning. Walking over to Havard, he smiled at Kalilah. 

"All finished then?" 

She smiled wide, nodding slightly and followed behind the men as they took the lead. They passed the torture chamber and Kalilah cringed at the mess of it, her lips pressing firmly together as she remained a by standard in the conflict, her arms folded firmly across her chest as she watched the torturer and his apprentice cut down the Stormcloak soldiers, holding up her hands as she pushed the two traveling with her past them and forced Ralof to keep walking instead of dying alongside them. He remained silent for the most part for the remainder of the journey, Kalilah sighing quietly as they passed by more of his fellow Stormcloaks, dead. She watched him as they entered the caves, gently looping her arm in his and smiling up at him as he gently placed his hand over top her arm and pat gently to let her know he was alright. She released his arm when they entered a spiders nest, her voice becoming high and squeaky as the "horde" of spiders came at them, the fight barely lasted a heartbeat, but Kalilah was wiggling and making noises of disgust as she pulled webbing from her arm. The men simply stared at her, utterly amused as she complained about how much she hated bugs. 

On the final leg, they moved quietly past the large bear sleeping nearby, and Kalilah practically danced when they saw the opening to the tunnels and when they exited the dark caverns she did actually dance, making a small spinning step and bounced before yipping loudly as Hvard grabbed her arm and pulled her down. She was about to give him hell till the shadow of the dragon past by their feet and she clapped her hands over her mouth as they watched it pass them by. 

"I think it's gone for good this time..." 

Kalilah watched as Havard stood, taking Ralofs offered hand and stood with them. 

"Closest town to here is Riverwood... We should head there and resupply." 

Havard looked at the other two and sighed quietly. 

"I believe this is where our paths separate." 

Kalilah frowned slightly, looking from one man to the other. A long sigh leaving her lips as she tapped Raylof on the shoulder as she passed him by, then Havard, and continued walking. 

"Where do you plan on going, prisoner?" 

Her brow lifted high, tilting her head back slightly and stared at Havard past her bangs covering her golden eye. 

"Believe it or not... But I am actually from here. Your stupid "watch" arrested me for minding my own business and being in too close a proximity to that stupid horse thief." 

Havard scoffed slightly as both men followed her down the road. 

"No way. The Legion wouldn't send someone to the chopping block simply for a suspicion." 

Kalilah's brow lifted slightly as she looked at Havard. 

"Would they not? Do you have proof Ulfric killed the high king unjustly? Did you see it with your own eye?" 

Havard was about to speak, but was cut off before he could even start as she continued. 

"I was looking for clues to my father's disappearance, I had asked the horse thief if he had heard any rumors about any man by the description I gave. He was a dead end, so, I tried to move on, but it seems simply talking to him I was incriminated." 

Havard looked at his feet as they made their way down the road, a low sigh leaving him. 

"I... suppose... The Legion has gotten--" 

"Lost in their "reasoning"? Power hungry?" 

Havard looked at Kalilah when she spoke, a slight frown crossing his face. 

"I admit... But all the Legion wishes for is to free our people!" 

Her brow lifted high and she stopped walking, a slight smile crossing her lips. 

"So do the Stormcloaks... By way of their traditions, their paths. Who are you to tell them they are wrong?" 

She walked past the men again as Havard stared at Ralof, dumb founded. She could hear the men talking, but not about what,her eyes glued to the sky as they walked along the road. When they approached the guardian stones, she brushed past the wizard and gently touched it before catching up to the men as they walked past her. She smiled at Ralof as he glanced down at her and chuckled, shurgging his shoulders and walked with his arm draped across her shoulder and her hand on top of Havards arm. 

When they past the arch way, Ralof went off to see his sister while Kalilah went with Havard to see his uncle, his uncle was generous, giving her a pack half filed with food and traded the imperial armor she wore for a gown, iron boots and gauntlets, he gave her leather cuirass and pants, Kalilah refusing to take another expensive item from him till she was able to properly pay for it. She changed into the gown and wears the iron boots under the hem, smiling as the gown was long enough to cover the clash in the outfit. Hauling her pack over shoulder, she gave Havard a gentle hug before leaving the house. As she walked down the road, she quickly saw Ralof and waved at him while stuffing the gloves into her bag, a small giggle leaving her as she watched a small boy run up and tackle the nord. She smiled to herself as she ran her hand over her head, her hand colliding with the bun on top her head. 

"Oi, oi. What a fine lass." 

Kalilah paused in her step and looked to the side at the new voice. 

"Hey baby, you wanna lip wrestle, you know you do." 

Her brow furrowed slightly as she grumbled under her breath, her glare fixed on the two men.


	2. Meeting Bishop

Kalilah's lips thinned out as she walked past the two drunk men, grumbling under her breath as she fished around in the bag she was given for a moment and stared at the plain silver ring at the bottom of it. She made a quiet noise and debated on going back to Hadvar's uncle to see if it was a mistake for it to be there, but when she saw how much food was actually inside the bag, she made the choice to head into the Inn and get more with the ring as exchange. She stopped at the top of the stairs, her eyes snapping up towards the nord leaning up against the wall and smirking at her as he stared, her brow furrowed slightly as she took a couple more steps towards the door. 

"What are you looking at...?" 

The man gave a weak chuckle and closed his eyes, shrugging his shoulders. 

"So, you're not one for lip wrestling. Got it." 

Kalilah stared at him blankly for a moment longer before scowling. 

"Excuse me?" 

He looked at her again and smirked. 

"You didn't hear those two cat calling you on your way up here? Or are you so used to comments like that you just stick your nose up like some damned noble?" 

Kalilah shut her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose, reminding herself to breath, and took a second before swinging the door of the Inn and stepped inside. The door didn't make the familiar thud of it closing, and when she looked over her shoulder she could see the man had followed her inside and she scowled at him before walking up to the counter and placed the ring on the top. 

"How much food for this?" 

The owner stared down at the ring before snatching it up from the counter, turning it over between his fingers and looking more closely at it. Once his inspection was complete, he reached behind him and grabbed various items, ale bottles, apples, cheese, and a couple other things. Placing them all up on the counter top, he eventually placed both hands on either side of the small mound of food he made and dipped his head toward it. 

"Here's what I'll give you for it." 

Kalilah looked over the items, checking their quality before stuffing it all into her pack. 

"Thank you." 

She smiled at the owner and spun on her heels but stopped short as she collided with a dark leather clad chest. 

"You know.... It's rude to not answer someone's question, Ladyship." 

Kalilah groaned at the man's voice, rubbing her forehead as she stared up at him. 

"And it's rude to sneak up on people... I guess we are even." 

He laughed quietly, watching her as she stepped past him. A slight smirk crossing his lips as he watched her storm off. 

"Is this how you treat every new person you meet?" 

Kalilah sighed as he voice followed her and she stopped short as she stepped outside the Inn and looked back at him as he was still right behind her. 

"Yes. I do. Now if you'll stop following me... I have shit to do." 

The man watched as Kalilah jumped down the steps, his brow lifting high as he saw the glint of her iron boots from under the very plain looking dress. He clicked his tongue against his teeth and returned to his original place against the wall, smirking slightly as he watched the girl run off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Excuse me!?" 

People in the hall stopped what they were doing as Kalilah's voice rang out. 

"No offence, my lord... But fuck no." 

Kalilah watched the dunmer guard sneer at her with her words, her own arms folded firmly across her chest as she stared at the Jarl of Whiterun. They stood in the arch mages office off to the side of the hall, the Jarl requesting she assist him in his research. When the mage informed her he needed something from Bleakfalls Barrow, she drew a line. 

"Excuse me?" 

Kalilah motioned at herself, the raggity dress and poorly fitted iron boots. 

"Do I look like someone who can just run off and dive head first into ancient ruins?" 

The Jarl and mage looked at her, the mage obviously amused with her point as he placed one hand over his mouth to cover his smirk. 

"I see. Well, I will make you a deal. Agree to do this for my court, and I will supply you with all you need for your journey." 

Kalilah stared at the Jarl with her jaw dropped, her eyes darting from him to the mage then to his guard then back before throwing up her hands and made a noise. 

"Fine! I'll do it. But I get to pick what I need." 

The Jarl grinned and nodded once. 

"Deal. Eraleth." 

The dunmer stepped forward, bowing her head. 

"Yes, My Jarl?" 

He motioned towards Kalilah. 

"Take our guest to my personal armory, make sure she will well equipped for her travels." 

The dunmer dipped her head once again and looked at Kalilah, tipping her head to the side as a motion to follow and started walking. Kalilah followed close behind the dunmer, taking in the décor of the hall, it didn't take long to reach the armory, the dunmer letting Kalilah enter first before following. Kalilah stood in awe at the sight of all the equipment, her jaw dropping slightly at all the amour under torch light. 

"Do you even know how to use a weapon?" 

Kalilah blinked and looked over at the dark elf, her brow lifted slightly. 

"You think I'm doing this for fun?" 

Eraleth crossed her arms over her chest and made a nosie of discust at her. 

"My Jarl is a generous man, but you... I don't know you. And if you think I will let you take advantage of his good nature--" 

Kalilah held her hands up and cut the dunmer off before she could continue. 

"Hold it. Stop talking..." 

Kalilah sighed softly and dropped her pack by the door and walked into the armory, and picked up an iron bow and three arrows. 

"There are apples in my bag. Grab three, and throw them all at once, if you please." 

Eraleth glared at Kalilah before obliging, snatching the fruit from her bag while the girl strung the arrows at once and waited for the dunmer to throw the fruit. The women stared at one another for a solid second before Eraleth threw the fruit up into the air and the reaction was instant, Kalilah lifting the bow and following the fruit with her uncovered blue eye and released all three arrows at once. Her ring finger pushing the third arrow to the wayside and in line with the third apple, while the other two headed straight, all three hitting their marks in the center of the flying fruits and sending them flying into a nearby wall, each one emending themselves in the soft moldings between the bricks. 

Eraleth walked over to each fruit, checking them to where the arrows hit, and made a low noise as if she was impressed. The dunmer turning her attentions back to Kalilah when she heard the bow clank against a table top. 

"I'm not taking advantage of your Jarl. I'm simply looking for my father, and if helping your Jarl has me traveling near places I would already be going...? Then I might as well. I just needed better gear before throwing myself into booby-trap filled ruins." 

Eraleth madea noise and sighed, closing her eyes once and nodded. 

"Alright, I get it. In that case, you will want this one." 

The dunmer walked over to Kalilah and the women spent the next few hours picking out a bow, daggers and a set of armor. While Eraleth recommended the iron mail, Kalilah wanted the steel plate. The girls were eventually ruled out when the Jarl came to check on them and said she should take the ebony set. Kalilah tried to protest, but when the Jarl took the armor set down and requested it be modified to it her, she gave up arguing but came to an agreement to pay for it when she had the funding. 

Kalilah stayed the night at Dragons Reach, waiting for the armor to be finished and she spent the night staring at the ceiling as she tried to understand how she got into this mess. In the morning when she woke, she was unsure when she actually fell asleep and climbed out of bed to get ready. The ebony mail was completed and taken to her room while she had breakfast with the Jarls son, laughing with him as she made funny faces to lighten the boys mood. When her plate was taken away, she gently pet the top of the boys head and retreated to her room to get changed. 

The chest piece of the armor was cut short to be able to mold and protect her breast better, while the chainmail shirt was extended and lay long enough to be called a dress, the gloves slimmed up and more "feminine" then before and traveled up to her elbows with a protruding sharp edge that could be used as a blunt weapon if the need called for it, the boots stopping short just past her knees with leggings that covered what the mail-dress did not, a skirt like bottom to keep the mail in place and protect her hips and plates that covered her thighs, clasping together around each muscled leg. 

Kalilah decided to redo her hair as she dressed, fumbling with buckles as she pulled her hair out from its bun on top her head and pulled the mess over her shoulder as she strapped one of the pauldrons on, the messy bronze strands stopping just short of her rip cage as she fixed the strap in place, then tossed it back over her other shoulder as she put on the other side, her boots tapping against the tiled floor as she huffed in annoyance with the stubborn strap. When she finally got it in place, she smoothed out the chainmail on her stomach and sheathed the daggers the took from the armory into the tall boots and attached the quiver of glass arrows to her lower back. She snatched up her pack and the glass bow she picked out, tossing them over her shoulder as she walked into the main hall. Her attention was drawn to the Jarl as he voice stopped echoing in the hall when she entered, a slight blush crossing her cheeks as she took note of everyone staring at her, when the Jarl nodded and smiled approvingly in her direction he began speaking again to his steward and Kalilah made her way outside. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Hey baby! Wanna sit in me lap tonight?" 

Kalilah groaned as she walked into town, her gaze stuck on the men still cat calling woman as they walked past. She pulled her hair back and into a high pony tail, her bangs fallover over her golden eye, closing her eyes as she waked up the steps to the inn again. It was almost night, and as much as she wanted to get this favor over with, she needed to sleep before traversing in ruins. 

"Well well, look who it is. Her highness has returned, and better equipped this time!" 

She sighed heavily and looked at the man still perched against the wall. 

"Do you enjoy holding up that wall?" 

He barked a short laugh, grinning at her. 

"Still snippy." 

She rolled her eyes and sighed, rubbing her face. 

"Look. I.. Apologize for my behavior before, it was rude." 

The man smirked at her, unfolding his arms from across his chest and placed his hands on his hips as he watched her. 

"Did that hurt? It looked like it hurt." 

Kalilah made a face at him and stared before throwing up her hands. 

"For the love of... I hate men." 

This made him laugh, loudly, and Kalilah simply smirked at him as she gave him a once over. 

"Are you any good with that?" 

The man stopped his laughing as he looked down to where Kalilah was now pointing, his brow lifted as he looked at his bow. 

"I suppose you could say that. Why do you ask?" 

Kalilah sighed softly, closing her eyes. 

"I need to go somewhere for the Jarl... And I would very much like to not do it alone." 

The man lifted his brow further as he looked back at her, taking in her appearance. 

"With all that shiny new armor? You should be fine." 

She rolled her eyes, frowning. 

"I don't want to be just "fine". I would like someone to watch my back." 

He snorted and grinned broadly at her, his gaze turning almost predatory and she made a squeaking noise and took a step back. 

"Not that kind of watching!" 

He laughed loudly again, shaking his head. 

"Alright, Princess. I'll make you a deal." 

Kalilah glared at him when he called her princess, but kept her mouth shut and listened to him. 

"I'll do something for you, if you do something for me. My wolf was taken from me, I tracked the sleezy bastards to a cave not far from Riften but there's too many for me to go alone. You help me get my friend back, I'll help you." 

Kalilah gnawed her lower lip as she stared at the man, her gaze fixated on the burning ember in his eyes as he stared back at her. After a while, she made a low huff and nodded once, extending her hand to him. 

"Deal." 

The man grinned broadly and took her hand, shaking it sharply and let go. 

"I'm Kalilah... What do I call you, Ranger?" 

He smirked at her, folding his arms across his chest. 

"Bishop."


	3. Man and his Wolf

They left early in the morning, Kalilah needing to kick Bishop on the ass to get him out of bed and giggled like mad when his face met the floor, needless to say, he was very pissy that morning. They walked mostly in silence, Kalilah occasionally stopping to pick at the mountain flowers that covered the path and Bishop groaning every time she did, she eventually stuck one in his hair to make him stop griping, saying that he could look just as pretty as they did. He shook the flower off much like a dog would a fly and Kalilah laughed. 

"So, princess, tell me about yourself." 

Her laughter stopped almost instantly as she looked over her shoulder at Bishop. 

"Why would you like to know?" 

He shrugged, his lips turning into a curious frown for a split second. 

"Curious I guess. You don't look like you're from around these parts." 

Kalilah lifted a brow at Bishop, smiling bitterly at the man. 

"I'm from Solitude." 

Bishop lifted a brow at her, folding his arms over his chest. 

"Windhelm?" 

His lips pressed to the side, his brow lifting higher. She watched him, frowning slightly before rolling her eyes and simply continued walking a head of him. 

"I was raised deep in the woods, my father left, and I was sold to slavers because the woman Pa left in charge didn't like me?" 

She took a glance back at Bishop, his arms still folded firmly over his chest and his brow now furrowed as he scowled at her. 

"You know... Not everyone likes to be lied to, Princess." 

Kalilah smiled as she shrugged, giggling quietly past a fake smile. 

"Good thing you're not everyone then." 

Bishop snorted in amusement and shook his head. The rest of the day was spent in silence, Kalilah keeping her mouth firmly shut as she listened to Bishop talk about wolfs in the woods and types of barriers that were eatable. By time dark settled, they made camp just outside the perimeter where Bishop said the group who took his wolf was. Kalilah shared her food with Bishop, her eyes stuck to the fire they had made as he chowed down on the bread and cheese. 

"Somethin' on your mind, Princess?" 

She glanced at Bishop across from the fire and grinned as she saw his stubble covered in crumbs. 

"I was just thinking of how much a messy eater you are." 

Bishop made a face at her as she tapped her chin, making his touch his own and almost blush as he wiped away the crumbs from his facial hair. She giggled quietly, flicking her hair from her face only to have it fall back over her eye. Bishop watched her closely, pointing over at her with bread still in hand. 

"You'd be cuter with your hair pulled back, you know." 

Kalilah looked at Bishop and smirked as she shook his head, rolling on her butt and laid down on her back, using her pack for a pillow. 

"Go to sleep, Ranger. We got to save your wolf tomorrow." 

Bishop watched as Kalilah folded her arms over her chest and closed her eye, a loud huff leaving his lips as he quickly finished eating and laid down on his side, his back facing Kalilah. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and stared at the stars, she didn't sleep out in the open woods, her screams would attract to many predators. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Kalilah waited for Bishop to wake up on his own this time, checking over her bow and arrows to make sure they were sharp and Bishops snorting grunt as he woke up made her lift her eyes from her task. 

"Sleep well, Ranger?" 

He rubbed his face gently and groaned as he rolled from one side to the other then to his back and sat up, his still sleep heavy eyes landing on her and he smirked slightly. 

"Damn right." 

Kalilah looked him over, smirking as she pointed one of ehr arrow tips towards him. 

"Pleasant dreams?" 

Bishop lifted his brow and looked to where she was pointing and made an almost annoyed groan as he cupped his hands over top the generous tent half pitched in his trousers. 

"Let's pretend that never happened." 

Kalilah grinned and picked up her bow. 

"Pretend what happened? This place is safe enough, we can leave our stuff here." 

She smiled over at Bishop as he began moving properly when she showed signs of leaving without him, already halfway up the path by time he finally caught up with her. Taking a short glance at him, her bow already in hand, she smirked lightly and quickly drew an arrow and strung it before quickly jogging ahead of him. He made some sort of noise, she wasn't sure what, and simply smirked when an arrow of his own whizzed past her head and found home in a bandits knee as he rounded some rocks, she smiled mostly to herself as she put the dogs in the cages out of their own misery and moved into the cave. 

"Will you stop just running a head!?" 

She could hear Bishop's voice hissing behind her, but she simply rolled her eyes and simply smiled as she drew her dagger and quickly jumped the bandit standing guard just inside the cave and drove it into his neck, his screams turning into a garbled mess as his throat filled with blood. Kalilah didn't wait to see if Bishop was behind her as she walked to the end of the tunnel, a small smile creasing her lips as she knelt in front of the cage and looked over the wolf inside. 

"Well, hello. You must be Bishops boy." 

The wolf made a low huffing noise as he sniffed at Kalilah's fingers gripping the bars of his cage as she fished out a bobby-pin. 

"You know, Ladyship... You're more effective then I thought you'd be." 

Kalilah rolled her eyes and smiled as she played with the lock till it opened, clapping her hands together once and opened the door wide for the wolf. 

"There. All better." 

The wolf exited the cage carefully, nosing her foot gently then her hand when she extended it towards him. She could hear Bishop take a sharp inhale as the wolf bared his teeth, but Kalilah kept her hand out stretched. 

"Come on. I'm not so bad." 

He took another smell of her, his bright predatory eyes giving her a once over and remained locked on her face as he made a low growl. 

"Ah... Princess?" 

Kalilah flicked her hand out towards Bishop to make him shut up, then moved her hand to her face and removed the glove before tucking her bangs behind her ear and smiled lightly as the wolf perked up almost instatly. 

"See?" 

The word was spoken to the wolf, but meant for Bishop as the animal took another step towards her and butted his head against her chest, making her giggle as she almost fell over at the weight of him. 

"He looked about ready to eat you, you know." 

She rolled her eyes again and gently grabbed the wolfs cheeks, scrubbing them. 

"You weren't going to eat me, were you? No, I don't think so, no I don't" 

She giggled a little too loudly as the wolf started licking her face, this time causing her to fall onto her rear as she tried pushing him away from her. Bishop simply grinned as he watched the scene play out before him. 

"Who's there?!" 

The three of them froze at the new voice, the wolf growling deep in his throat as Kalilah quickly grabbed her bow, easily pushing him off from her as she climbed into a quickl kneeling position, drawing an arrow, and releasing it just as someone came into view, the arrow finding home in the mans eye socket and causing him to turn into a screaming mess as he clutched the wound and stumbled around till he fell over the railing. There were shouts of surprise and move clattering foot steps echoed in the cave. 

"I think I made them angry." 

Kalilah looked over her shoulder at Bishop as he laughed and rolled his eyes. 

"What do you say, mutt? Shall we teach these guys a lesson?" 

Kalilah stood and watched Bishop rush ahead of her with his wolf, her brow lifting high as watched the bandits slowly become a gory mess as the wolf ripped them apart as arrows found home in their bodies. Kalilah smiled softly and shook her head as she pulled her bangs from behind her ear and covered her eye again before running out and joining the mess, pulling her bow over her shoulder and drawing her daggers from her boots as she jumped over the railing at the top of the ramp. She landed on top the bandit with the arrow in his eye, her head tilting slightly as she made note to collect it later, and drove one of her daggers home into the chest of a woman running up to her with a mace over her head. 

The fight lasted what felt like a heart beat, Kalilah running around now and collecting arrows from bodies as Bishop checked over his wolf for any injuries. As she approached them, she smiled when the wolf left Bishop and trotted over to her like she was his new best friend, and she giggled quietly. 

"Oi, what am I, chopped liver?" 

Bishop held out his hands like 'you've got to be kidding me' and the wolf made a low amused huffing noise as he rubbed his head across Kalilah's leg. 

"Sorry, he's mine now. Gues you'll have to tag along with me to be able to see him." 

Bishop rolled his eyes in annoyance but still held a smirk on his face as he stood and walked over to her. 

"I'm impressed, Princess. You can hold your own rather well." 

His eyes dropped from her to the wolf, who barked at him, and he shook his head slightly. 

"Alright. You helped me, I help you. Who knows, maybe I'll stick around longer then just one trip, who knows what sort of things I could find." 

Kalilah smirked slightly as she handed him his arrows. 

"You mean things you could sell for a profit?" 

Biahsop laughed loudly, grinning broadly. 

"Now you're getting it, Princess." 

Kalilah rolled her eyes and grinned as she pet the wolfs head and they all left the cave and headed back to their gear, and to her word, their gear was untouched and waiting for them to return. She giggled quietly when she gave some food to the wolf, the poor thing not given food for a while it seemed. Bishop watched her as she cupped the wolfs cheeks again like she had before and kissed his wet nose, the wolf making a pleased whining noise before he tackled her to the ground and began licking her face once again causing her to squeal and thrash around. 

"Noooooo! Bishop, help!" 

He laughed, loudly, before walking over to help her away from the wolf, straightened herself up, and they were on their way to Bleak Falls Barrow.


	4. Bleak Falls Barrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S ALIVE!!!! IT'S ALIVE!!! *Cough*

Kalilah rolled onto her side, her eyes squeezing tighter in her sleep. They had made it back to Riften and stopped at the Inn before heading to the ruins, purchasing extra portions of meat for Karnwyr. Kalilah rented the room furthest from the rest of the guests, needing sleep but fearing her screams would wake every soul in the building, Bishop had insisted they share a room and pushed too hard for it so Kalilah ended up sending him to a room completely across from hers. The look on his face was priceless. 

A small noise escaped her as her body tensed, her eyes shutting tighter as sweat beaded down her brow. Her breathing slowly becoming quick and shallow, but before any more noise could come from her a sudden heavy weight on her body made her stir away. Her golden eye landing on the face of a wolf with his ears pressed back on top his head as he nosed her hip gently. 

"Karnwyr... Why aren't you with Bishop?" 

She lifted her hand lazily and gently scrubbed his muzzle, a low noise leaving her as she closed her eyes once again and rubbed her face. Her head hurt, the skin around her golden eye itching as she rubbed at it as she pulled herself from bed and walked over to the wash bowl across the room. Wetting a cloth in the cold water, she wiped her face carefully but hissed when the cold water touched the sore skin around her golden eye. She dropped the cloth in the water and held the side of her face, kneeling down as she closed her eyes tightly, her skin feeling like It had caught fire. 

Her attention was drawn to her side as a wet nose gently nudged at her shoulder, her blue eye opening as she looked to see Karnwyr standing over her with his ears pressed to his head and whimpering quietly, his nose gently pressing into her shoulder. Kalilah reached over and gently rubbed his nose, closing her eyes again as she leaned against his front legs as he sat down on his haunches. She could hear insects from her open window and made a soft noise as Karnwyr placed his head on her shoulder and leaned into her, supporting her weight, while his gentle whining slowly stopped. Kalilah didn’t know how long she stayed there, keeping her eyes shut, as the pain around her eye slowly subsided. Only till she heard the door to her room burst open did she finally open her eyes. 

"There you are you mutt! I've been looking everywhere!" 

Kalilah tilted her head some as Karnwyr lifted his, looking toward his master and whining low in his throat, attempting to shuffle close to Kalilah as Bishop stepped into the room. 

"How long's he been with you?" 

She tilted her head some, looking out the window to see the suns light bleeding into the room and she made a low noise, pondering. 

"A few hours, I think." 

She looked back towards Bishop he wore a displeased look on his face and arms crossed over his chest. 

"What?" 

He scoffed. 

"You two look rather cozy." 

Kalilah giggled tiredly and tilted her head to look up at the wolf as he shifted and began to stand. Rolling onto her knees, she stood up and stretched with a loud yawn as her hands reached above her head. 

"Don't look so grouchy, Bishop. You think you would be happy that Karnwyr is getting along with me, less he didn’t, that would just be awkward." 

Bishop scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

"For you perhaps." 

Kalilah blinked and looked at the ranger, her brow lifted some as she took in his appearance once again and something dawned on her as she stared at his eyes. 

"You're jealous." 

Bishop looked startled at her observation, a pinkish hue colouring his cheeks as he took a step back. 

"Jea- Get your eyes checked, Ladyship!" 

Kalilah stared a moment longer before bursting out in laughter, holding her sides, as Bishop scoffed and spun on his heels and left her room. Karnwyr followed after him when Kalilah waved him off, a large grin on her face as she got dressed and ready to go. She found Bishop outside, holding up the wall again, with Karnwyr chasing a butterfly not that far away. The rangers eyes flicked from watching his wolf towards her as she stepped outside and stretched again, letting out a noise of content as she smiled over at him and rolled her shoulders. 

"Come on, ranger. It's all up hill from here." 

She giggled as Bishop groaned, pushing off the wall he was leaning on and whistled for Karnwyr, the wolf halting instantly and looking over towards Bishop before trotting in their direction. The walk up the mountain was silent save for the occasional wolf howl in the distance, Kalilah stopping once in a while to pick at bushes of berries to see if there was anything she could nibble on. 

"You know..." 

Kalilah turned her eye towards Bishop as he spoke, a piece of dried meat hanging from her mouth. 

"I'm surprised you are so skinny, with how much you eat I'm shocked you're not the size of a horker." 

Kalilah gawked at Bishop, her eyes growing wide at his words. Once she collected herself, she tore a piece off the meat hanging from her mouth and gave the rest to Karnwyr, who was more than happy to finish it, as she jabbed a finger at Bishop as she swallowed her mouthful. 

"I get plenty of exercise, thank you!" 

Bishop laughed and grinned at her. 

"Do you now? Here I thought you just had everyone else do your dirty work for you, Princess." 

Kalilah rolled her eyes and couldn't help the fond smile that spread across her lips. 

"Keep calling me that, ranger, and I might get the wrong idea." 

Bishop rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time on their walk and Kalilah giggled as she clapped her hands together and ran towards the steps of the ruin closing in but stopped dead in her tracks as an arrow whizzed by her cheek. 

"Ladyship!" 

Kalilah reached up and touched her cheek, her brow twitching slightly as she pulled her fingers back and stared at the blood there, the warmth of the liquid rolling down her cheek making her click her tongue against her teeth. Bishop had his bow drawn and aiming for a target while Karnwyr ran a head, her eyes darting to the side as she drew her own bow and an arrow, drawing, and firing at what seemed like nothing. Bishop came up beside her and was about to give her hell for wasting her arrow but stopped himself as he watched a body fall from the top of the steps. Kalilah looked up at Bishop and smiled before she began walking up the steps, drawing another arrow, and he follows close behind as he watched her find mark after mark with her bow. A low whistle leaving him as he placed his free hand on his hip and watched as she closed in on a bandit trying to fight off Karnwyr and his curiosity peaked when the bandit froze when they looked up at Kalilah. 

"Oh no... No you." 

Kalilah smiled some as she approached the bandit and grabbed the cuff of their armor and hauled them away from the wolfs jaws. 

"No, no, no, no!" 

Bishop watched as Kalilah dragged the bandit to the far end of the ruins where there was a drop off down the mountain. 

"Help me! She's crazy!" 

Bishop felt his chest tighten as he jogged to catch up to Kalilah, grabbing her shoulder and making her stop. 

"What are you doing? Just kill him like the rest." 

The bandit began wailing, pleading, begging, and Kalilah turned her eyes towards Bishops face and then his hand on her shoulder. The look on her face making him remove the touch as he stared at her. 

"He's part of a larger group... One I desire to send a message too." 

Bishop's brow furrowed as he stared at her. 

"If I drop him, maybe he'll survive, with broken bones of course, but if not then it's of no matter." 

Kalilah hauled the bandit closer to the edge and planted her feet stead on the ground. 

"It's a win-win." 

And with that, Kalilah hauled the bandit forwards one last time and threw him over the edge. She stood there unmoving and listened to the bandit scream as they fell, her brow lifting slightly as she spun on her heels and started walking towards the ruin doors. Bishop kept his eyes on her, a slight frown on his lips. 

"When I asked you where you were from..." 

Kalilah stopped walking, her head turning in his direction as he spoke. 

"You weren't lying... about being sold, were you?" 

Kalilah closed her eyes, a small smile crossing her lips as she brushed her hair back behind her ears and turned around to look at Bishop. 

"Do you know how much money someone pays for someone with mismatched eyes?" 

Bishop watched as Kalilah opened her eyes, his breath hitching and stopping for a second as the brilliant gold of the eye she always kept covered with her bangs stared into him. 

"They paid one point five million septem for me. The gold made for a pretty exchange." 

Kalilah shrugged and closed her eyes again, tilting her head and her bangs fell from behind her ear and covered her face once again. 

"I was a salve since I was eight, my "nanny" would have sold me sooner but she needed to secure a deal she enjoyed most. I escaped ten years later, and have been looking for my father ever since." 

Kalilah scoffed, turning back around and began walking again, Bishop falling instep behind her as she spoke more. 

"Man probably thinks I'm dead, but hey, you never know, right?" 

Kalilah looked up at Bishop, a small smile on her lips. 

"How long have you been looking?" 

Kalilah tilted her head at the question as they climbed another set of stairs, finally reaching the entrance to the ruins and pushed the door open. 

"Two years?" 

Bishop gaped at her as they stepped inside the ruins, his eyes partially bugging from his head. 

"Two years?! Hell, Princess, how do you keep looking?" 

She shrugs her shoulder slightly, smiling over at him. 

"I keep hearing rumors of a man with eyes like mine. It keeps me going." 

Kalilah drew her bow and let loose two arrows, each finding home in the bandits at the far end of the cavern. 

"But each time I think I get close enough to finding that man, he somehow vanishes and I have to start over again." 

Bishop whistled, pulling one of Kalilah's arrows from a bandit body and handed it back to her. 

"How many times have you almost caught up to him?" 

Kalilah sighed softly, cleaning the arrow tip and put it back in its quiver before looking at Bishop. 

"Six times, I think? Each time has different length between." 

Bishop chuckled quietly, shaking his head. 

"And how long has it been this time?" 

Kalilah tipped her head to the side, making a noise as they walked down the corridors. 

"Five months?" 

Bishop clicked his tongue against his teeth and let out a heavy breath, shaking his head slightly. 

"You've got some dedication, I'll give you that, Princess." 

Kalilah smiled slightly and looked at Bishop, trying to ignore the growing amount of cobwebs. 

"Oh trust me, ranger... Once I find him, if he is indeed my father, I'm going to beat the living shit out of him." 

Bishop laughed, louder then he meant too, and both of them stopped as a voice echoed down the halls. 

"Is someone there?! Help me please!" 

Kalilah looked up at Bishop and he made a face at her, about to shake his head, but instead let out a frustrated growl when she ran ahead of him and cut open the way blocked by spiders web. Kalilah, forgetting about her phobia, managed to get half way into the next room before the largest frostbite spider she'd ever seen dropped down in front of her. 

If you asked her about it later, she most definitely did NOT squeal like a skeever that was roasting alive over a fire, she definitely did NOT slip and fall on her ass as she stopped in her tracks, and she most surely absolutely positively did NOT scamper her way to her feet and run back to Bishop and hide behind the ranger. 

Bishop, for a moment, enjoyed the scene as it played out before him, a large grin spreading over his face when Kalilah fell backwards onto her ass. He was unable to help the laugh that bubbled up in his chest as he watched her scamper to her feet and run over to him and cling to his back as he drew his bow, his brow lifting high as he looked over his shoulder at Kalilah to see she was truly terrified of the eight legged monster. Her visible blue eye wide and full of terror. Bishop let out a rushed breath and pulled arrows from his quiver and gave a sharp whistle, Karnwyr jumping at the spiders appendages as he aimed for the eyes. 

The fight didn't last long once Karnwyr managed to chew a couple of the spiders legs off while Bishop continuously aimed for the eyes and other tender areas of the giant bug and when it finally fell dead, Bishop spun around, forgetting his bow, and gently cupped either side of Kalilah's face and made her look at him. 

"You ok there, Princess?" 

Kalilah made a quiet noise as she stared up at Bishop, taking in shaky breaths before nodding. She placed her hands on top of his for a moment before gently lifting them and taking a deep breath and let it out slowly as she closed her eyes. 

"'M sorry..." 

Bishop watched her as Karnwyr came over and gently rubbed his muzzle across her leg, huffing heavily, Kalilah glancing down at him and smiling. 

"You'll have to explain what just happened." 

Kalilah nodded slightly, closing her eyes again before taking a step back from Bishop and smiled at him. 

"When we get out of here." 

Bishop smirked slightly and watched as Kalilah stepped around him and sprinted past the body of the frostbite to help cut the person down, his grin falling when the now freed man sprinted away and babbled something about gold and not wanting to share any of it. Kalilah made a noise and looked up at Bishop, irritation clear on her face as her cheeks puffed up. 

"Come on, Princess. We'll run into him again eventually." 

Sighing, she nodded some and followed behind Bishop as he took the lead. Further in, Bishop was now the less than impressed one as they ran into draugr, dispite the battle only lasting a short moment they still annoyed him. The way they walked and the noises they made, made his nose scrunch up. Kalilah smiled over at him and waved something around in the air as Bishop pulled arrows from the corpses on his way over, whistling as Kalilah showed him the golden dragon claw she picked up from the body of the man she freed from the spider web. 

"Now that is impressive." 

Kalilah giggled and nodded some, turnning the claw around in her hands as Bishop took the lead once again, tilting her head as she traced her finger tips over the animal patterns. 

"What do you think it is?" 

Bishop scoffed as he lead them around a corner. 

"Besides the best meal ticket ever?" 

Kalilah smiled and shook her head some, looking the claw over again before pushing it into her pack. When they came across more draugr, Kalilah was about done with the ruins, cursing every time she let loose an arrow and almost throwing her bow at one when it came to close. If Bishop didn't kill it before it got too close, she would most certainly have broken the bow over its head. The ranger found this side of Kalilah amusing, watching as she ran past bodies and collected arrows, her small tantrum of annoyance when they came across a large locked door, the way she thought it all over before coming to a realization that the dragon claw they picked up was a key. Her triumphant cheer when the large wall like door slid open made him smile fondly, shaking his head as she jumped over the lowering stone and looked back at him with a large toothy grin. 

The rest of their journey was silent save for the odd encounter here and there, more draugr and some skeletons. When they made it past the last cave, Kalilah walked in awe as they approached the far end and ran over to the wall carving. Her finger tips tracing over the foreign symbols carved into the stone. 

"Bishop, look." 

The ranger lifted his brow and watched her as Kalilah smiled widely, placing both hands on the wall and tapped her finger tips against it gently before looking back at him. 

"This is dragon language!" 

She beamed at him, her blue eye sparkling as she looked back. Bishop scoffed quietly. 

"What makes you say that, ladyship?" 

Kalilah walked across the wall, pushing her bangs back from her face as she looked over the symbols. 

"When I was a slave, I occasionally had free time and access to a very large library." 

Bishop made a low humming noise as he stared at her, a slight frown tugging his lips as he watched her smile fall for a split second before returning. 

"Oh... I wish I could take a rubbing..." 

Bishop snorted, a large grin pulling at his lips, and Kalilah snapped her eye towards him. 

"Not that kind of rubbing!" 

They both laughed, Karnwyr running around the cave chasing bats, as Kalilah traced her fingers over more of the symbols. Her smile fading some as her fingers traced over one of the symbols and quiet chanting filled her mind, her eyes narrowed on the symbols she touched, and suddenly she pulled back with a loud gasp as the symbols began to glow and something felt as if it was seeping into her chest. Bishop was next to her within seconds when she stepped back, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

"You alright?" 

Kalilah nodded slightly, staring at the wall a moment longer before looking back at Bishop. 

"I have no idea what just happened... It was like-" 

Her words were cut off as a loud thud sounded from behind them, both their eyes turning towards the coffin not that far from them and watched as a draugr in armor climb out. 

"Oh for fucks sake..." 

Bishops eyes snapped to Kalilah as she cursed, unable to hide his amusement as he drew his bow while she pulled the daggers from her boots. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Kalilah hugged her pack to her chest, the stone tablet heavy in more ways than one, and groaned as she ploped it down on the ground beside a log and laid across the moss covered bark. 

"You know, princess, I think there are spiders on there." 

She groaned softly, pointing a tired finger at him. 

"Don't." 

Bishop laughed softly, shaking his head slightly as he watched Kalilah rolled from the log and sit on the ground, kicking her feet out in front of her. 

"Remind me why I did this?" 

Bishop laughed as he collected wood, glancing at the setting sun. 

"Because you apparently like to help people." 

Kalilah scoffed and giggled, shaking her head. 

"If I have this idea again.... Slap me." 

Bishop laughed again, setting up the wood to make a small bonfire and quickly tossed a fire scroll into the mess to light it. 

"You assume I will still be around." 

Kalilah tensed at his words, her gaze lowering to her pack and she busied herself with taking another look at the stone slab. Bishop looked over at her expecting some sort of witty come back but when his eyes settled on her, his breath caught in his throat. Her smile faded into a straight line as there was no emotion in her eyes as she focused on the stone face, tracing her fingers across the carved letters. 

"Look, I still haven't decided if I will come or not." 

Kalilah made a noise, fishing something out of her bag and threw it at him. 

"You want it right? I can do the rest from here. Thank you." 

Bishop caught the item as it was thrown, glancing down at the golden claw in his hands. His brow lifted high as he looked back at Kalilah as she moved, tucking the stone safely back in her bag before rolling over to her side and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"Sleep. In the morning we part ways." 

Bishop frowned slightly at the sudden change in attitude but didn't say more, tucking the gold claw away in his own bag and looked at Karnwyr. The wolf was scowling at him, his lip drawn back and brow furrowed, it made Bishop feel worse than what he already did. Sighing, he laid down and rolled over, shutting his eyes and fell asleep quickly. 

When Bishop woke again, he expected to wake up to the sun in his face or from Karnwyr licking at his face cause he over slept, what he didn't expect was to jolt awake because someone was screaming. His eyes darting over to Kalilah to see her eyes screwed shut, her hands fisted at her chest, and curled up in a fetal position as she whimpered and gasped before screaming again. Bishop jumped to his feet and ran over to her, just as Karnwyr had, and gripped her shoulders shaking her awake. Her eyes snapped open and her breathing turned into heavy labored panting as she looked around quickly. Bishop frowned and pushed stray strands of her hair from her sweat covered face before gently cupping the side of her head. 

"What's the matter with you woman? Are you trying to draw the attention of everything out here?" 

Kalilah's eyes darted up to his face and she frowned deeply, tears forming in her eyes. 

"S-sorry, Bishop... I tried not to fall asleep out here..." 

His brow furrowed slightly as he watched her look around at her surroundings again before she relaxed marginally, removing his hands from her as she sat up properly and rubbed her hands across her face. 

"That always happen?" 

Kalilah nodded slightly, shutting her eyes as she sighed. 

"I was locked in a cave, if I didn't behave. The cave was a nesting area for frostbite spiders..." 

She opened her eyes and looked at Bishop. 

"Did you know that frostbite's search for fresh food as soon as they hatch?" 

Bishop frowned and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. 

"I'll make you a deal, ladyship." 

Kalilah made a small humming noise of wonder at his words, her eyes closing as her head landed on his shoulder. 

"I'll stay. So long as the profit of what we find on our travels is good and that we sleep out in the woods only if we have too till we figure out how to make your nightmares stop." 

Kalilah scoffed but smiled. 

"Careful ranger... Words like that can give a girl the wrong idea." 

Bishop rolled his eyes but smirked as Karnwyr crawled up on her other side, laying his head on her lap. 

"In your dreams, Princess."


	5. Dragon Rising

Kalilah watched Bishop from the corner of her eye, her brow furrowed together as she gnawed on her lower lip. Despite his words, she was skeptical, truly believing the ranger will just up and leave at his convenience and it made her jumpy. A quiet sigh slipped past her lips, drawing his attention, and closed her eyes as her face pointed at the ground. 

"Keep walking like that, princess, and you'll run into a tree." 

Kalilah blinked and looked up just in time to let a small yipe leave her lips and duck a tree branch and she glared at Bishop. 

"Thanks for that." 

He shrugged, chuckling, and rested his hand on top of Karnwyr's head as the wolf ran up beside them and arf'ed at his master. The trio took the shortest path back to Whiterun, Kalilah groaning softly every time Bishop made a smart comment about her gathering flowers or other random ingredients. They reached the city in record time, or at least it was record time for Kalilah, and headed straight for dragons reach. Kalilah was so done with all of this. 

The stone slab was getting too heavy and Bishop had eventually offered to take it as they climbed the steps, Kalilah simply nodded and let Bishop take the straps on her pack in hand and throw it over his shoulder as they finished their climb, Kalilah opening the doors for them, and headed straight for the court wizards "office". Bishop, not so gracefully, dropped Kalilah's pack on a table top while the girl fished the stone out and pushed it across the wood surface. 

"Here you are... One heavy-ass piece of stone." 

Bishop laughed quietly at her words, shaking his head as she grinned over at him. 

"You got it? Excellent!" 

The court wizard turned to speak with what Kalilah assumed was his colleague so she turned and looked at Bishop. 

"So." 

Bishops eyes turned to her, his brow lifted. 

"So?" 

She shrugged slightly. 

"What shall we do from here?" 

Bishop grinned and turned to face her better, opening his mouth to speak but was immediately cut off as the Jarl's guard came running into the room. 

"Farengar!" 

Everyone's attention was drawn tot he dunmer as she came into view. 

"A dragon has been spotted near one of the watchtowers! The Jarl has requested your presence." 

Klilah didn't need to look at the wizard to see the excitement on his face, she could feel it, then he squealed. Squealed. 

"A dragon!? How exciting! What was it doing?!" 

He was already making his way out of the room while talking, a skip in his step, and Kalilah looked at Bishop and bit her lower lip to keep from bursting out in laughter. 

"You better come too." 

Kalilah's gitty laughter died when the dunmer addressed her, a small groan leaving her lips as she slumped, winning a chuckle from Bishop as they began following after the dunmer. 

"This. Is. Bull. Shit." 

Each word was over-pronounced as Kalilah took a step higher on the staircase leading up to the second level of dragons reach, sighing as the conversation was already started when she and Bishop climbed the final step. 

"It came out of nowhere. I was lucky to have made it out of there." 

Kalilah rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest as she watched the group converse. Her eyes flicking over towards Bishop as he glanced at her and made a face of annoyance before leaning into earshot of her. 

"Ladyship, I believe you are about to have something asked of you. Shall I prepare the slapping?" 

Unable to help herself, Kalilah choked on a laugh and covered her mouth, drawing everyone's attention while Bishop simply grinned widely as he took a step away from her and watched. 

"You have done a great service for me and my court, going to that ruin. I hate to ask of this, but I would request you and Eraleth head to this watchtower and see what all the commotion is. If a dragon is truly out there, we need to be prepared." 

Kalilah sighed heavily, shutting her eyes as she thought it over for a moment. 

"What makes you think I can help?" 

The Jarl frowned slightly. 

"You have proven yourself recourse full by retrieving what my court wizard had requested of you, and Eraleth tells me you have great potential." 

Kalilah glanced over at the dunmer, a mock scowl of thanks on her face, before turning back to the Jarl. 

"Alright. Fine, but in return, I wish to ask something of you, Jarl." 

The Jarl's brow lifted high and a small grin grew on his face. 

"I have given you armor, weapons, and supplies for the tasks I requested you do... What more could you ask of me?" 

Kalilah made a face, scowling at the Jarl now. 

"All which I will re-inverse you for once I find the funding." 

The Jarl stood still for a moment before closing his eyes and nodding once, flicking one of his hands outwards for her to continue. 

"I have been looking for a man, tall, broad shoulders, his hair the same shade as mine." 

The Jarl tilted his head slightly, watching Kalilah as she spoke. 

"He would have long bangs, covering half of his face maybe? The eye showing would have been blue?" 

The Jarl folded his arms over his chest, thinking for a while, before shaking his head. 

"I cannot think of someone like this crossing my court." 

Kalilah frowned and sighed, looking at the floor. 

"But-" 

Kalilah looked back up at the Jarl. 

"I can keep an eye out." 

Bishop watched as Kalilah's face split into the brightest smile he's seen from her thus far while traveling together and it made something in his chest tighten as he watched her beam and take one of the Jarl's hands and shake it once firmly before spinning around towards him and take his arm in hers and lead him back down the steps as the Jarl waved the dunmer off. Bishop laughed quietly as he watched Kalilah pull past Eraleth and tug him out the door and into town before finally letting go. 

"I will find him, Bishop. I know I will." 

She smiled up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. They crossed the courtyard and left with Eraleth and her guards, making their way to the tower. Kalilah and Bishop both drew their bows when they got close enough, Eraleth taking a survey of the area before the group moved forwards again with weapons drawn. 

"No! Stay back!" 

Kalilah looked past a pile of burning rubble to see a nord come out from the tower, waving them off. 

"It's still here somewhere!" 

Kalilah reached back to her quiver and laced one of her arrows, her head spinning around quickly as she spotted Bishop at the far end of the rubble of the tower. She opened her mouth to call for him but was silenced out as an ear-splitting roar echoes in the clouds, Kalilah had to drop her bow and cover her ears as she winced at the sudden noise. 

"You ok, princess?" 

She looked over to see Bishop had run to her, a scowl on her face as she took her bow back when he picked it up and offered it to her, a grin on his face. 

"Why does it have to be dragons?" 

She tested the string on her bow before pulling back on it, arrow laced, and let it fly just as the dragon flew overhead. 

"Someone must hate you, ladyship." 

Kalilah rolled her eyes and grinned at Bishop, slapping his rear with her bow as he turned to side step and let loose one of his own arrows and Kalilah laughed loudly at his face after the action. He rolled his eyes, affectionately, and turned back to what they were doing as the dragon circled back around and came lower to the ground. It took less than a second to see what happened but it took a few more to actually register. Bishop watched as Kalilah dropped her bow and quiver to the ground and draw her daggers, watched as the dragon came in low as if it was landing, watched as Kalilah ran into its path before vanishing as the dragon gained air once again. His eyes grew wide with shock as something inside him constricted around his heart, his eyes darting from where Kalilah was standing up towards the dragon as it cried out in pain. 

"Now that is the definition of insanity!" 

Bishop glanced to his side as one of the guards yelled, pointing at the dragon. His gaze followed up again and the vice grip in his chest lessened slightly as he watched as Kalilah was dangling from its shoulder, her blades buried deep in its scales. He chuckled quietly as he watched her climb her way up and try balancing on the giant lizards back, stumbling and swaying as she held her arms out for extra balance, before jumping when the dragon made another downward swoop with blades extended and began slicing her way down the membrane of the dragon's wing. 

Bishop made a noise and dropped his bow, running at an angle as the dragon roared and plummeted to the ground, Kalilah falling away from it as she reached the end of the wing and slid right off. Bishop laughed quietly to himself as she dropped her blades and cursed rather colorfully, and extended his arms before their bodies collided in an ungraceful display. Bishops feet getting knocked out from under him and tumbling back as he fell backward, his arms full of a woman who had covered her eyes and curled up partially. He groaned softly and sat up, shoving her off of him and won an undignified squawk as she landed on her rear. 

"Next time, you get to learn how to sprout wings." 

Kalilah blinked and stared at Bishop as he stood and stretched. 

"Fuck your heavy woman." 

Kalilah gasped and threw a rock at his shoulder, grinning broadly as Bishop helped her to her feet. 

"Thank you, Bishop." 

He simply grinned at her. 

"Don't mention it. Seriously. Don’t." 

Kalilah laughed loudly and ran past him, finding her discarded daggers and ran towards the dragon as he flailed on the ground and tried to fight off the assault of the guards. As she got within reach, she threw one of her daggers at the dragon and it found home in the side of its jaw, roaring loudly in pain. Kalilah yipped as she jumped to the side, barely avoiding a stream of fire coming from the mouth of the dragon, it's large head twisting to snap at her as the flame cut off. 

"Dovakiin!" 

Razor sharp teeth barely missed her shoulder as she dipped down under his neck and drove her dagger into the soft underbelly of its scales, gripping the handle firmly as blood poured down her arms from the wound, and pushed. The small gash she made on its neck becoming a large tare as she pushed the blade across the underside of the dragon's neck, the roaring so close to her it made her ears ring, and she only stepped away from the large lizard once she had successfully created a large open wound that oozed blood. Kalilah stuck her tongue out and her nose scrunched up as she stared at the blood coating her arms, shaking her head as she began to wipe it off. 

"Was it just me, or did the dragon talk?" 

Kalilah looked over at Bishop as he spoke, her brow lifting some before looking back over at the dragon as it thrashed weakly, trying to back up from the group. She made a noise and walked to the dragon, removing her blade from its jaw and looked it in the eye as the blood pouring from its neck slowed, the blood soaking into the grass below. 

"Maybe you are hearing things?" 

She grinned over at Bishop and the ranger rolled his eyes. Kalilah walked around and took her other blade from the dragon's neck and made a noise as she walked back over to Bishop, wiping the blade off on the grass before putting it back in her boot. 

"Well... That's one lizard dead." 

Bishop snorted, grinning at her, while the guards stood around in awe as they poked and prodded the near-dead dragon. 

"Dova... kiin." 

Kalilah and Bishop turned back towards the dragon, the deep voice gargled as blood poured from between its teeth. Kalilah glanced back at Bishop for a second before stepping forwards and gently touched the nose of the dragon's muzzle and stared at it, watching as the eyes closed and body become slack. 

"Well now." 

Kalilah stood upright and took a step back, pausing in her step as the body of the dragon seemed to shrivel and curl into itself. A large gush of wind making Kalilah wince and cover her face with her arms as her hair flew about wildly and closed her eyes. 

"Ladyship!" 

Taking a peek at the dragon's body, the skin around her golden eye throbbed painful and made her stumble back a step as the dragon's body seemed to let off a streaming light that reached for her, a quiet gasp leaving her lips as she stared wide-eyed as the light seemed to wrap around her body and sink into her skin the light focusing mostly on the golden orb and sinking into it. 

Just as quickly as it started, the light vanished as it seemed into Kalilah's body, mainly through her eye, and everything grew quiet. The wind died and everyone held their breath as they stared at Kalilah, her eyes wide as she spun around quickly and looked at Bishop for only a second before the strength left her legs and her body crumbled to the ground as her world went black.


	6. Way of the Voice Pt.1

When Kalilah woke again, all she felt was the pain. Her legs felt heavy, her arms like they weren't there, her lungs felt like they were on fire every time she tried to breathe in. She practically rolled to her side, whimpering in pain as she did and suddenly someone's hand was on hers and rolling her back into place while she tried to make out the muffled angry yelling. Kalilah managed to open her eyes partially, the blurry outline of soldiers huddled around her, her head in someone's lap, and something solid pressed against her lips, an opening. Liquid spilled around her lips before she finally managed to open her mouth enough to take in the liquid, swallowing hurt more than breathing. Kalilah vaguely remembered a soft voice calling her as her eyes closed again, she was too tired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next time she woke, Kalilah felt cold. Her body still ached, her head now throbbing as the skin around her golden eye felt like it was burning. She made a noise and tried to open her eyes but something cold and slightly damp nudged her neck, her head leaning into the touch and a soft wuff of warm dog breath moved across her shoulder. With a lot of difficulties, she lifted her hand and went to touch where the breath came from but her fingers ran into something else, something warm and welcoming. Fingers not belonging to her wrapped around her hand and held on tightly as she became slightly aware that she felt like her body was moving not of her doing. Her head rolled to the side and came into contact with something firm, the smell of leather filling her nose as she lost consciousness again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first things she became aware of when she woke again, was the warm weight on her torso. The second thing she became aware of was the grip on her hand. Kalilah opened her eyes slowly, staring at the stone ceiling above her as she blinked rapidly to remove the blur in her vision. She lay still for a few minutes, trying to decide if she really wanted to try moving, her brow furrowing as the large lump on her torso moved around some and chuffed before stilling. Her eyes slowly lowered and golden brown fur came into her view, she couldn't help the fond smile that spread across her lips as she reached up with her free hand and gently rested her palm in the golden fur as a heavy breath left her. She closed her eyes again and made a noise, her nose scrunching as the skin around her eye flared and burned.  
Uncontrolled, she cried out and her hands flew to her face as she curled in on herself. The large mass on her torso being flung off from the sudden movement and the grip on her hand tightening for a split second before she got her hand away to hold her face.

"Kalila!"  
Hands on her shoulders made her curl into the body that was next to the bed she was on, but her whimpering didn't stop as she pressed her hands against her face and held onto her skin. It felt like it was melting.

"She is awake?"  
A voice Kalilah didn't know came from the distance and another set of hands was on her, resting on her lower back as the hands on her shoulder tried to push her over onto her back. She cried in protest, wishing to remain as she was, curled up in as small a ball as she could manage.

"Come on, Ladyship. Lay back."  
Bishops voice was like music. Kalilah opened her eyes again and reached out for him, gripping his arms as his hands moved from her shoulders to gently hold her elbows.

"Bishop... Where...?"  
Kalilah looked around the stone walls, frowning some as her gaze fell on an older nord behind her. His hands on her lower back. She looked back at Bishop as he laughed bitterly.

"Something happened after we killed the dragon."  
Kalilah's brow furrowed as she stared up at Bishop's face, a small smile on his lips as he gently brushed her hair back from her face, the dark honey of his eyes darting from her eyes to the skin around her golden eye.

"I had to almost beat that Jarl's mage to a pulp before he finally had the idea to bring you here."  
Kalilah made a noise as Bishop gently brushed his thumb across her cheekbone, flinching away from him marginally.

"Apparently, absorbing a dragon soul did a number on you, princess."  
Kalilah stared at Bishop, her mouth hanging open for a good minute as she tried speaking. He laughed slightly and tilted his head to the side and started to push her down onto her back, the older nord's hands traveling up her back and to her arm as he lay her down, his eyes fixed on the skin around her own as he reached to the bedside and rung out a cloth that sat on the edge of a bowl full of water. When he turned back towards Kalilah, he began speaking.

"I have heard many about Dragonborns, never truly seen one, however, but this..."  
He gently brushed the cloth across the skin surrounding Kalilah's golden eye and she winced, hissing at the sting it created.

"I have never even heard of anything like this."  
Kalilah stared up at the men, puzzlement clearly written on her face as she looked back towards Bishop.

"What's he talking about?"  
Bishop stared at her for a moment before sighing and stood up, Kalilah watching best she could from her position on the bed, clearly not allowed to move around yet. Bishop grabbed a silver plate from a tabletop on the other side of the room and came back, polishing the surface of it before holding it out to her. Kalilah frowned but took the plate, Bishops grip on it tightening and tugging before he finally let go and smiled as he watched her stick her tongue out at him before lifting the plate to eye level. 

Kalilah felt a large lump hop back onto her torso and looked past the plate as she smiled down at Karnwyr as the wolf made himself at home on her tummy again. She placed one of her hands on top the wolfs head and scrubbed his snout, gaze flicking up towards the plate in her other hand as she lifted it higher to see her reflection. There was a moment when she wanted to tease Bishop about freaking her out, to ask why he looked nervous, why there was an old man hanging over her, and why she wasn't allowed to stand up, but any joke or snide comment she was trying to think of died on her tongue as she stared up at her reflection in the plate. 

The blue of her one eye was brighter, more vibrant, while the golden hue of the other looked quite literally like melted gold. But the brighter intensity of her eyes isn't what makes her eyes go comically wide, nor are they what makes her mouth run dry or the reason she cries out and jumps from the bed. Karnwyr jumping off this time before his face met the floor, while Kalilah ran across the room and wrapped her arms around herself as she stared at the plate in horror.

"What the fuck?!"  
Her eyes darted to Bishop as he stepped over to her.

"Breath, princess. Just breath."  
Kalilah glared at him, strands of her hair wild and only some strands were covering her face as she pointed over at the plate.

"Breath? Are you kidding me!?"  
Kalilah was livid, her hand flying to her face as she touched the skin to find what the reflection shown was real. Her eyes going wide once again as her fingertips traced over smooth scales that had grown out from the skin around her eye, dusty copper in colour, and she sunk to the floor as she cupped her hand over her eye.

"What the fuck...?"  
Bishop reached over and cupped her face in his hands, frowning slightly as she struggled to get out of the hold.

"Hey."  
He leaned forward and gently bumped their foreheads together, making her movements still and her eyes fly open to stare at him. His gaze was solid as he held her face, keeping her pinned.

"Breath. In and out, ladyship."  
Kalilah followed his instructions, breathing in and letting it out, matching his own breathing as she just watched him as he helped her calm. Once she was calm enough, her shoulder sagging and her poster going somewhat lax, Bishop pulled his face away and gently brushed his thumb across her cheek before letting his hands drop and land on top her knees. Her gaze following up to the elder as he simply watched from afar so as not to upset her more.

"Where are we?"  
Bishop laughed quietly at her question and looked over his shoulder towards the elder.

"We, princess, are in the grand halls of the greybeards."  
Kalilah stared at Bishop, her brow furrowed at the sarcasm in his voice, before her gaze flicked towards the elder and he bowed his head slightly.

"Welcome to High Hrothgar, Dragonborn."  
Kalilah frowned slightly, looking from the elder back to Bishop then over once again, her frown only growing.

"Dragonborn's are a rumor… Practically myth…"  
The elder chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

"And yet here you are."  
Kalilah frowned still, using Bishop as an anchor as she stood up. He followed her up, keeping his arm on hers to catch her easily if need be while their attention turned back to the elder.

"It is common knowledge that a Dragonborn is a common individual born with the soul of a dragon. For all we know, there are indeed more out there, but there hasn't been an actual dragon appearance in hundreds of years."  
Kalilah leaned heavier on Bishop, her limbs still tired from whatever it was that happened to her after the dragon died. The elder kept speaking.

"There is just one thing I am uncertain of. It is clear you have the soul, the gift, that was revealed when you killed the dragon… But never have I heard of a Dragonborn showing a physical reflection."  
Kalilah sighed and gave up trying to stand, slumping down as her knees gave way. Bishop was quick to catch her though, wrapping his arms around her waist and hoisting her back to her feet as he walked them back over to the bed and sat her down. Her hair falling back into her face to cover the golden eye while she turned a tearful blue gaze up at the elder.

"So I'm more of a freak now. That's just great."  
Bishop frowned slightly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as she turned her face towards him and pressed her face into his stomach.

"Please do not think of this as such, Dragonborn."  
Bishop glanced up at the elder and slightly shook his head in a silent plea for the man to not talk anymore. Catching the hint, the elder bowed his head slightly and looked from Bishop towards Kalilah.

"I shall leave you be for the moment. If you need anything, do not hesitate to find me or one of my brothers."  
Bishop watched the elder take his leave before looking down at Kalilah and lifting one of his hands to gently pet the top of her hair. They remained like they were for a long drawn out moment before Kalilah shifted and sat up on her own, encouraging Bishop to move and kneel in front of her as he stared up at her face.

"You can leave, you know… If you want."  
Her words were like a bucket of ice water.

"What do you mean "I can leave"?"  
Kalilah frowned and looked at Bishop, tears staining her cheeks.

"For starters? Apparently, I'm a "Dragonborn"… That can't possibly be a normal ranger, or bandit, living. Secondly? I have scales… SCALES!"  
Kalilah groaned as her head dropped into her hands, her shoulder shaking.

"I'm a god damn freak of nature! Even for Dragonborn standards!"  
Bishop couldn't help but chuckle at her words, shaking his head slightly as he reached for her hands and pulled them away from her face, making her look at him. 

"It's not that bad, princess."  
He smiled at her as he reached up and pushed her bangs back, tucking them behind her slightly pointed ear, and stared at the scales the now surrounded her eye. His thumb gently brushed against their direction, making Kalilah twitch and the small points push into the pad of his thumb before smoothing them out again, he smile turning into a slight smirk as he looked from the scaled and to her eyes.

"They look kinda hot."  
Kalilah felt her mouth drop as she stared at Bishop, her brain short-circuiting for a second while it tried processing what he just said.

"Excuse me?"  
He laughed.

"The scales. If you look at them, like really look, their kinda hot."  
Kalilah blinked a few times before squinting at Bishop and smacked his shoulder.

"Oh shut up."  
They both started laughing. Kalilah holding her sides as she leaned forward so that her forehead was now resting on Bishop's shoulder, his arms snaking around her hips and gently holding her as they laughed. They stayed like that even after they finished laughing, processing everything and just enjoying the moment, but Kalilah moved and immediately missed the closeness from Bishop as he stood up and helped her to her feet.

"I guess I should speak to the greybeards, huh?"  
Bishop nodded slowly, watching her carefully as she began walking slowly towards the door of the room.

"I'm sure I'll be able to get back to normal, whatever that means, with their help… And I think moving will be good for me."  
Bishop laughed some as he saw how stiff Kalilah was moving, shaking his head.

"Being asleep for almost two weeks will do that to you, ladyship."  
Kalilah felt her jaw drop again, turning towards Bishop and was about to undoubtedly scream but was interrupted by her stomach as it took the turn to validate what Bishop had said. Kalilah's face turned bright red as she folded her arms across her abdomen, grumbling under her breath as Bishop burst out laughing.

"Come on, ladyship. Let's get you some food, then you can be as mouthy as you want."  
Kalilah stuck her tongue out and grumbled more as Bishop draped his arm across her shoulders and lead her out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive!! REALLY ALIVE!!!  
> Maybe. heh...  
> So far... I am happy with this... Only thing I can't decide is how daddy dear comes back; if he comes back... Thoughts? Ideas? ;D I'm open to opinions.


	7. Way of the Voice Pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok... So... This chapter might be a little bit weird...  
> I wrote like... Half of it, then when I wrote the final lines, I thought "Hey! Better cliff hanger ending!" So... Instead of rewriting everything and losing the "flow"... I kind of placed things oddly? Maybe? Let me know?

Kalilah sat at a long table in a mess hall looking room, her fingers gently tracing across Karnwyr's ears as she nibbled on a piece of venison, the wolf staring up at her with the biggest puppy eyes ever as he tried coaxing her into giving him some meat. Kalilah giggled quietly as she popped the rest of the bite into her mouth before reaching across the table and giving the wolf a larger piece, the two of them now sitting comfortably while eating the meat. Kalilah tilted her head back and thought back to the last four days, smiling slightly to herself.

~~~~~~~

On the first day, she was conscious while Bishop helped her to a table to get her food, she had stubbed her toe on something when she stumbled and accidentally shouted at one of the greybeard elders, her face turning completely beat red as she apologized profusely when the old nord regained his footing. Once she was settled in the hall, Bishop went off to talk to some of the elders while she was given as much food as she could need to regain her strength. After a while, her scarfing slowed down to steady nibbling as she pets Karnwyr's scruff and shared the meat from the table with him, this quickly becoming a norm for them, while they waited for Bishop to return. 

Kalilah spent the next two days studying with the elders, learning what she could from them and listening to their ranting on dragon texts and the forms of writings and the power that they could hold. They had shown her different ways to translate the script, ways to look at the symbols that made sense. When she had gotten more comfortable with being on her feet again and regained her strength, she spent a lot of time training, using her voice while keeping up with other skills she knew, one night she had spent the majority of the dark hours in a hand-stand, her mind completely elsewhere. She liked being around the greybeards, but she also felt the itch under her skin to leave, to travel, to do more.

~~~~~~~~  
It had been hours now, Kalilah and Bishop finally deciding to move on, and she was waiting in the mess hall for Bishop to finish gathering up their belongings and supplies they may need. Kalilah had spoken to Arngeir, the elder giving her some words of advice and further training she could put to use. To her dismay, it was traveling into another dungeon to retrieve something, but she was happy to do it if it meant learning more about dragons and the new abilities she had.

Kalilah was getting bored now and had taken to staring at a plate and poking at the scales on her face, her lips pressed firmly together as she watched as the scales went from the dusty copper into a brighter almost dusty gold colour as her mood went from boredom to entertained. She had been so enthralled with the change she didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her, or that Karnwyr jumped down from his place on the bench next to her and when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, Kalilah squealed and threw the plate across the room before turning wide eyes up at Bishop as the man choked on a laugh at her reaction.

"Bishop!"  
He laughed, hard, as she spun in her seat and began beating on his shoulder and side.

"Easy, easy!"  
He laughed more before snatching up her wrists, smirking down at her as he tilted his head to the side towards two of the greybeards that had followed him in.

"They have been doing some reading since we arrived and they claim to have found an answer to that."  
As he spoke, Bishop reached up with one hand and touched Kalilah on the cheek just below the scales, their colour returning to a neutral dusty copper as her eyes turned towards the elders.

"Your companion was rather adamant on wanting an answer."  
Kalilah giggled softly at the elders' words, looking at Bishop as the nord grunted and sat down next to her, picking up a piece of bread and taking a large bite before motioning for them to continue.

"As it would appear, there have been very few documented occurrences such as this for a Dragonborn. For that, we apologize that we cannot give you a solid answer."  
Kalilah frowned slightly, her posture slouching as she looked at the floor.

"We can, however, give you a theory."  
Her eyes turned up towards the elders again, glancing once towards Bishop as the man made a noise as he gulped around a tankard full of what she could only assume was mead, before giving her full attention back towards the elders.

"We found one script within our walls, very old, written in a dragon dialect even we had trouble deciphering."  
Kalilah's brow lifted slightly as she watched one elder pull a scroll from his robe sleeve and walk over to her. She took it, her curiosity peeked and flipped the role of paper around in her fingers before rolling the page open to look at the writing. Everyone in the room watched her, Bishop from the corner of his eyes while the greybeards folded their arms behind their backs, Kalilah's fingers tracing over the elegant curves of the writing with a furrowed brow. She made a low noise as she stared at the page, too focused on it to know if anyone was talking, and lifted her hand from the edge to push back hair that had fallen into view and covered her golden eye at the angle. Another low noise came from her throat as she stared at the page, gold eye now focused on it, and her brow shot up into her hairline.

"One of my parent's is a dragon?!"  
Bishop choked on his drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware it's short!!!  
> I will make it up in the next chapter.


	8. The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller Pt.1

"A dragon…"  
Kalilah glanced over her shoulder at Bishop, the nord finally speaking. The two of them had been traveling for half a day now to Ustengrav to retrieve the Horn of Jurgen… Something, Kalilah was distracted. 

"Apparently?"  
Bishop's eyes dart across her face, taking her in as if for the first time.

"A dragon."  
Kalilah stopped walking and spun on her heels completely to look at Bishop properly, placing her hands on her hips.

"A DRAGON!"  
Her brow lifted slightly as Bishop's voice just got louder.

"How does that even work?! I mean… It's a dragon! Have you seen how big they are?!"  
Kalilah crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, staring at Bishop.

"Perhaps they are largely compensating for something?"  
Bishop paused a moment to regard Kalilah, his brow shooting up into his hairline.

"Seriously?"  
She shrugged.

"It makes sense, no? I mean-" She spun back around and stared walking again. "huge bulking body, gorgeous wings, strong, powerful… Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny dick."  
Bishop stared, jaw dropped, at Kalilah as she sauntered down the hill, half turning to grin up at him as she moved her hands in the air. Motioning huge with her arms and hands for the dragon's size then suddenly making a "whoosh" noise and almost smacked her hands together as she shrunk the size down to a mere sliver. Bishop couldn't help it, he threw his head back and started laughing loudly. Kalilah smiled up at him as she placed her hands on her hips and watched as he continued to laugh till he had to bend forwards and hold his stomach, tears in his eyes as he waved one hand around in an attempt of a white flag to make the laughing stop. She waited patiently, tucking her hair behind her ear and gently traced over the scales around her eye as she stared at the trees.

"Damn, princess. I didn't think you had it in you to make that kind of joke."  
Kalilah simply smirked and started to walk again, shaking her head.

"Never underestimate a pretty face, ranger."  
Kalilah looked to her side as Bishop jogged up to her side, grinning down at her.

"I will keep that in mind."  
The rest of their journey played out much the same as their previous trips together. The occasional pack of wolfs, a random bear that just showed up out of nowhere. The only difference now is that the wildlife made an attempt to shy away from Kalilah when she stared at them, hair not covering the scaled eye. Bishop and she shared a look of puzzlement and Bishop made a smart comment that she needed to get used to keeping her hair away from her face now, this won him an overdramatic eye roll.

When the pair reached Ustengrav, Kalilah wanted to rip the beard from every greybeard. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but what she didn't expect was the flaming footpath or the copious amount of skeletons. If she had to pick something she hated just as much as bugs, it would be skeletons. The way they moved, the bones creaking together, it just freaked her out.  
Then, when they finally reached the end and she could get the horn and call it a day, it wasn't there. Kalilah was livid. Anyone who asked him, Bishop would swear on his life that the scaled around Kalilah's eye turned a shade of crimson while she looked ready to breathe fire. Bishop had to point out the note that sat where the horn should have been, and Kalilah almost ripped the flimsy piece of parchment when she snatched it from his hand. He had to admit, she scared him a little bit when she's this angry. 

"Come on… Let's go do this other thing!"  
She threw her hands up in the air, ranting as they walked.

"And then this person is going to ask me to do something. And THEN they'll give me the horn. And THEN I have to go to the greybeards and do whatever the hell, and THEN I will be able to continue on this fucked up path. THEN I believe I'll get an arrow to the god damn knee because that's all I keep freaking hearing from people!"  
Bishop had to cover his mouth to hide the grin and suppress the laugh that threatened to come out. He matched every step Kalilah made as they now went to Riverwood, listening to her gripe and groan and bitch about how life is completely sucking. At some point, Bishop had Kalilah in his arms as she cried in frustration. He couldn't possibly understand how this was for her, or what sort of pressure she could be feeling from it all, so all he could do was hold on to her as she cried against his chest and run his hand across the top of her hair. The rest of their trip was quiet from then on, Bishop keeping his eye on Kalilah as she walked with her eye down at the road till they came to Riverwood. Kalilah all but sprinted towards the Inn, saying something about wanting this over with and needing a good sleep after all of this, and Bishop just laughed as he followed behind.

"I would like the attic room, please."  
Bishop watched as the owner Kalilah was speaking too made a face.

"Well, we don't have an attic room, but you can take the one at the far left there."  
Kalilah groaned but nodded and grabbed Bishop's hand and dragged him with her. Dropping down onto the bed with a long tired groan. Bishop simply grinned at her and shook his head as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned up against the wall, opening his mouth to speak but the door of the room suddenly opening caught their attention.

"So you're the Dragonborn I've been hearing so much about. I think you're looking for this."  
The owner of the inn held up the horn and Kalilah sat up on the bed, her gaze slightly narrowed.

"So that's where that went…"  
The keeper simply smirked and tucked it away again.

"Come with me, we need to talk."  
Kalilah groaned and looked at Bishop as the keeper walked away from them and across the hall.

"Told you."  
Bishop laughed and walked over to her, pulling her to her feet and marching her across the hall. He kicked the door closed behind them as they entered the room across the hall.

"The Greybeards seem to think you're Dragonborn. I hope they're right."  
Kalilah groaned again as the keeper opened a secret door in her room, shaking her head.

"Oh yeah… I only have dragon scales on my face for decoration…"  
The keeper paused in her step and looked over at Kalilah.

"Dragon scales?"  
Kalilah rolled her eyes and pushed her hair back from her face and stared down at the woman with a slight scowl.

"Interesting."  
Kalilah groaned again and followed as the keeper started walking again into a secret basement area.

"What's with all the cloak and dagger anyway?"

"You can't be too careful. Thalmor spies are everywhere."  
Kalilah rolled her eyes and looked towards Bishop.

"Thalmor… Right right…I just came here for the horn."  
The keeper tilted her head slightly, a small smile on her lips.

"And I will give it to you. After you've proven yourself to be what you way you are."  
Kalilah threw her hands up in the air.

"Fucking seriously?!"  
Bishop chuckled slightly and walked over to Kalilah, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"If you want me to listen to you and not just take the horn anyway, you better start talking, and I mean fast."  
The keeper simply rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"I'll explain what I want when I want, got it? You'd already be dead if I didn't like the look of you when you walked in here. But I had to know if the rumors about you were true..."  
Kalilah scoffed.�"Fine...Why did you take the horn from Ustengrav?"  
"I knew the Greybeards would send you there if they thought you were Dragonborn. They're nothing if not predictable. When you showed up here, I knew you were the one the Greybeards sent, and not some Thalmor plant."  
Kalilah rubbed her hands down her face, sighing heavily.

"Why are you looking for a Dragonborn?"  
The keeper looked to the side for a moment before looking back at Kalilah.

"We remember what most don't - that the Dragonborn is the ultimate dragon slayer. You're the only one that can kill a dragon permanently by devouring its soul. Can you do it? Can you devour a dragon's soul?"  
Kalilah made a face at the question. She doesn't know what she can do, not really. She barely remembers what happened.

"I… Guess? I mean… I absorb some kind of power from dragons. That's all I can say."  
The keeper scoffed loudly, scowling.

"This is no time to play the reluctant hero. You either are or aren't Dragonborn. But I'll see for myself soon enough."  
Kalilah groaned.

"See for yourself? Let me guess… You want to go skip along and kill a dragon to see what actually happens before you give me the horn."  
The keeper simply smiled.

"Exactly."  
Kalilah paused and stared at her, blinking rapidly.

"Wait.. .what? Are you fucking insane?! It took a whole group of guards plus me and my Ranger to kill ONE, and you just want to skip along and do it yourself!?"  
The keeper just nodded, still smiling, and Kalilah looked at Bishop and threw her hands in the air.

"We're fucked."


End file.
